What is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company (DeepSeek AI, Hangzhou) that develops large language models and makes several of them open source. Its current lineup includes DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, DeepSeek-V4-Pro, and earlier models such as V3.2, V3.1, R1 and V3. Users can access the models through a mobile app, a web chat, and an API platform.
The API uses OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible endpoints, supports JSON output, tool calls, chat prefix continuation (beta) and fill-in-the-middle completion (beta), and offers a thinking mode for reasoning tasks. The flash model accepts a 1M-token context window with up to 384K output tokens. The pricing page shows per-token rates that differ between peak and off-peak hours, and the company also lists integrations with coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode.
Key features
- Chat app and web chat interface
- Open-source models such as DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V4
- OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible API
- JSON output and tool calls
- Thinking (reasoning) mode
- 1M-token context window on the flash model
Who is it for
- Developers integrating LLM APIs
- Programmers using AI coding agents
- Researchers working with open-weight models
- Individual users wanting a general chat assistant
How to get started with DeepSeek
- Go to the DeepSeek website or download the mobile app
- Create an account and log in
- Type your question in the chat window and enable deep thinking if needed
- You need a cheap API for your own program or product
- You work with long documents, e.g. context up to 1M tokens
- You want to integrate the model with tools using OpenAI or Anthropic formats
- You need a Polish interface, and there isn't one
- You need predictable costs, because prices depend on time of day and cache hits
Pros and cons
- Open-source models available
- Low per-token API pricing listed on the pricing page
- Long 1M-token context window
- Off-peak and peak pricing differs by time of day
- Image understanding is not supported by the pro model according to the pricing table
DeepSeek pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash (pay-as-you-go) | 0.02 USD | Per 1M input tokens, cache hit, off-peak; peak 0.04 USD; cache miss off-peak 1 USD (in the pricing table listed as 1 yuan-equivalent unit), output off-peak 4 USD; peak 2 and 8. Prices shown in CNY (yuan) on the page; figures are the page values, currency not explicitly stated in English |
| DeepSeek-V4-Pro (pay-as-you-go) | 0.15 USD | Per 1M input tokens, cache hit, off-peak; peak 0.30; cache miss off-peak 4.5 and peak 9.0; output off-peak 13.5 and peak 27.0. Prices shown in CNY on the page |
Prices copied from DeepSeek pricing, checked October 12, 2026. Currency as shown by the vendor; taxes may apply.
Is DeepSeek free?
The vendor does not state this clearly on the homepage or pricing page.
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- Best AI for chatting - #4
DeepSeek alternatives
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 Grok | 30 USD/mo | yes | Chatbots & AI assistants |
 ChatGPT | 34,99 PLN/mo | yes | Chatbots & AI assistants |
 HuggingChat | not listed | ? | Chatbots & AI assistants |
 Kimi | 15 USD/mo | ? | Chatbots & AI assistants |
 Jan | not listed | yes | Chatbots & AI assistants |
 Open WebUI | not listed | yes | Chatbots & AI assistants |
All alternatives to DeepSeek →
Comparisons
FAQ
What is DeepSeek used for?
Chinese AI lab offering open-source large language models (DeepSeek-V4, R1) via a chat app, web interface and developer API.
Is DeepSeek free?
The vendor does not state this clearly on the homepage or pricing page.
How much does DeepSeek cost?
The cheapest paid plan is 0.02 USD (vendor pricing, October 12, 2026).
What are the best DeepSeek alternatives?
Closest alternatives: Grok, ChatGPT, HuggingChat, Kimi, Jan.
Data checked October 12, 2026 on the vendor website (deepseek.com).